Sunday, September 30, 2012

Social networking

Do you think it is rude for people to check their Facebook pages on
their phones at the dinner table? Do you feel that there is something
wrong with people who make Facebook feed-browsing their first and last
things to do of the day? Do you get frustrated with people updating
their statuses with the most trivial of activities?

Face
it, the definition of social interaction and networking between human
beings have changed. Either you get on board or get left behind.
Insisting that an entire generation has lost its way when youths choose
to spend their free time on social networking sites is not going to
change this behaviour. And people can indeed get incredibly famous just
by posting themselves on Youtube doing something silly if the video goes
viral. This is the way it is going to be for a least the rest of the
decade so get over it.

I was a late Facebook-joiner and
only entered this new realm of social networking several years after
Facebook was created. I have since used it to widen my gay social circle
in a new country and to create a personal fan page to promote myself.
Now I am a more subdued Facebook user and I think growing maturity has
something to do with it. However one uses Facebook, I find that by
looking at his or her status, one can quickly get a pretty good picture
of how his or her life and personality is like (unless there is a conscious
effort at fakery). To me, I see this as one of the time-saving
advantages of living in this increasingly-hectic world. In addition, if
you are like me and include current local and global affairs in your
posts, it provides a very good snapshot of history (at least the bits
that concern you). So now let me share with you mine for this month.

"Going
to Harbour Town with my boo. No money left in my everyday transaction
bank account and will not be tempted to part with any cash today so I am
safe.""Going for my first karaoke in Melbourne! Excited!""It's true. Once you know someone is gay, it is so hard to find an
actor convincing when he plays straight. Case in point, a C grade Singaporean horror movie called 《靈聼》 Ghost on
Air." "All sympathies aside, don't all voluntary army enlistees know that
they might be called into the Afghan war and hence are fully aware of
the dangers they are opting into? If not, that should be the first topic
in the pre-enlisting presentation." "I have my take on why Australia is doing far better in the Paralympics than the Olympics. What's yours?""It is only a mobile phone model-upgrade and not the cure for AIDS or
the end of the wars in the Middle East. Do you really need to get so
worked up over it? Even the invention of mobile phones didn't kick up
this much frenzy. Geez.""Stuck on "Broken Arrow" now from The Script #3""Why is Pop Asia on SBS always only regard South Korea as Asia? How
unrepresentative. I want my music from Hong Kong and Taiwan!""Just watched the documentary Miss Representation about how the
portrayal of women in the media is all skewed, limited and wrong plus
the consequent problems. Welcome to the world of the LGBTI community. In
fact screw that -- at least women get portrayal. How many positive
LGBTI role models in the media are out there for the community in
comparison? Women should count themselves lucky.""I am sure most of you have had encountered Red Cross volunteers
asking you for a donation on the streets. Has any one of you told them
in their face how you feel about how their blood donation rules are
unfairly biased against gay people? And if so, what were their
response?" "Is the purpose of the opposition only to object to anything the
government says? How can the wannabe attack the incumbent on what the
current government failed to do when it is an impossibility for the
wannabe in his current position to prove that he can do any better? It
is like me telling you "I don't know why you are wrong and I cannot
prove that you are wrong but I just know that you are wrong." How
credible is that illogical argument?""Why am I so competitive on Words With Friends and Wordfeud? I can
sometimes have a winning competitor and my next move against him
weighing down in my mind for hours." "Just saw an Asian girl holding her mother's hand as they head home from a day of shopping.... made me miss my mum.""Why can't The New Normal just have a really normal gay couple? Is
the American audience really deemed to be so dumb and narrow-minded that
the producers have to feed them stereotypes that do not challenge
anything? Disappointing." "TV remote control is not working!! GASP! How will I survive this?!?!""Goodnight world. Yet another 9pm bedtime on a Friday night.""I have always wondered... why do NRL players typically have a bigger
built than those of AFL? Is it because of the game rules and strategies
that require one group to be bigger in size?""It's spring time! And time for a topless jog in the park, starting in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!""Just joined BandMix.com in the hope of joining a band as a song-writer/vocalist. Wish me luck!""Has any of you watched that controversial anti-Islamic film trailer? And what do you think of it?" "I posted my picture on this page (called "Drop dead gorgeous Men of the World") and asked if I befit the page title. It's really nice to hear such a positive response from the page owner "I will definitely be posting some of your pics :)" And that is why my pics are now on the page and this is one of the ways I garner more hits on my blog. Win-win!" "Just heard this on the news. On the issue of anonymous SMSes calling
on Muslims to gather and rebel in Australia, elders have this advice
for the community: "If you do not know the sender of the SMS, do not act
on it." Can the advice be any more obvious???""Watching Insight on SBS now about whether Australia invests too much
in sports funding and listening to Olympians whingeing about how little
funding they get. What I want to ask them is why should anyone fund
their dreams? They say they do it because they know how much they can
inspire young people but I don't buy that as the main reason for them
being in competitive sports. I think it is their love for sports that
fuels them and everything else that comes with it eg. inspiring youths
and doing the country proud with gold medals, etc are just secondary
by-products. The bottom-line is: if I want to be a famous pop singer and
have utmost passion for it, can I ask the country to fund me to do
that?""Throughout history, do you think more people in the world have been
helped or destroyed (including being killed) in the name of religion?""Why personals sites like Zoosk that target horny straight men out to
look for sex advertise on gay apps like Scruff is totally beyond me.
What happened to good old market research?""Indonesian festival at Southbank here we come!""Who wants to challenge me on Words With Friends and/or Wordfeud???" "I know my blog doesn't gain enough hits to make this profitable but
I've always contemplated monetizing my blog. However artistic integrity
is my biggest concern -- ads popping up all over the place really hurts
the look of the site! What do you think of the idea?""Can't believe I missed the birthday (3rd Sep 2112) of my favourite childhood icon. Happy belated pre-100th birthday Doraemon!""Can't believe I had oily (albeit yummy) roast duck for 2 meals today! I feel so fat now!""Topless jog on this nippy morning, here I come!""In this sports-mad nation, when Grand Finals Day is almost as big as the Melbourne Cup, why isn't today a public holiday?""Had a good time tonight having a proper sit-down dinner party with
Ision Ensor at Nissa Ni's. I think this might be our first one in
Melbourne since we've arrived. Talk about being anti-social!""Looking back at my weight chart over the 9 months I am in Melbourne,
there is a clear dip in months when work has been stressful and a rise
when it's been relaxing -- yet another nice thing about my
ever-expanding life-spreadsheet."